Pope Sergius I

Pope Sergius I (650-8 September 701) was Pope from 687 to 701, succeeding Pope Conon and preceding Pope John VI.

Biography
Sergius was born in 650 AD in Palermo, Sicily to a family of Greeks from the city of Antioch in Syria. During Pope Adeodatus II's reign, Sergius moved to Rome due to attacks by Arab pirates on the island, and in 687 AD he was consecrated as Pope after the death of Pope Conon. Sergius was elected during a feud between Archdeacon Paschal and Archpriest Theodore, and he stormed the palace to stop the fighting. Paschal called on Exarch John II of Ravenna for military support, but John withdrew with Paschal's money when he found out that Sergius was regularly elected, and Sergius later exiled Paschal to a monastery for witchcraft. In 692 the Quinisext Council of the Byzantine Empire tried to discipline the Catholic Church, but Sergius refused to accept its canons and Emperor Justinian II of Byzantium ordered his abduction. However, Sergius was protected by the Roman people and the Exarch of Ravenna's Italian militia. He died in 701 AD.